Thursday, August 17, 2017

Though he was world famous for his jazz photography, Herman Leonard didn’t visit the birthplace of jazz until he was almost 70. And then he fell in love. Leonard spent much of his life in places like New York, Paris and San Francisco taking iconic…

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Fat City popped up seemingly overnight in the 1970s. To the chagrin of those in the parish who want to redevelop the district, its remnants and memory linger on. The area near Lakeside Mall was Jefferson Parish’s answer to the French Quarter. The …

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

The impact Hale and Lindy Boggs had on Louisiana politics is outmatched only by the influence the couple had on national politics. In 1940, Hale Boggs was elected to the House of Representatives at age 26. The Democrat lost his re-election bid in …

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Audubon Park housed collections of animals as early as 1893. But it wasn’t until 20 years later the zoo as New Orleanians know it began to take shape. In 1924, the park regained 50 acres between Magazine Street and the levee that had been used as …

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Fires, floods, competition and legislation have conspired against the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course, but the track has withstood those assaults for more than 165 years. Today, the Fair Grounds is the 3rd oldest thoroughbred race track in th…

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Flamboyant as his paintings and photographs, George Dureau gained worldwide acclaim for his depictions of the human figure in all of forms. Dureau was born in Midcity and lived much of his adult life as a major character the French Quarter. Dureau…

Monday, August 07, 2017

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has continually expanded, renovated and reinvented itself since opening in 1984. Though slowed down by Hurricane Katrina and the economic recession, the center hosted almost 1 million visitors in 2015. Its ec…

Sunday, August 06, 2017

During Edgar Degas’ brief stint in New Orleans, the artist opinion of the city changed dramatically. He was originally bored by the city and expected to do nothing productive while here. But by the time he had left, he had painted his first great …

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Equally frightening and fascinating, the story of the Axeman murders stands out in a city of ghost stories. In 1918 and 1919 the Axeman terrorized the city, killing at least five people and seriously injuring at least seven others with an axe or a…

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson’s defeat of the British in the Battle of New Orleans likely won him the presidency. The Tennessee native rushed to New Orleans’ aid when he learned the British planned to attack the city. “Old Hickory” rounded up a group o…

Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Surrealist photographer Clarence John Laughlin took ghostly images from his imagination and out of the corners of his eyes and put them on photographic paper. Known as the first American Surrealist photographer, Laughlin spent most of his life in …

Monday, July 31, 2017

There may be no place more closely associated with the river steamboat than New Orleans. The boats didn’t originate in the city, but they altered the city’s trajectory by making trade upriver possible. Before the steamboat, boats had to be rowed, …

Saturday, July 29, 2017

The New Orleans’ piano sound is instantly recognizable by its funky and rhythmic syncopated sound, even back to the days of Louis Gottschalk and Jelly Roll Morton. Each player since has included their own flourishes that have made their sound dist…

Maybe because no one in New Orleans can stay down for long, the blues in the city are a minor, but important, note in the city’s musical history. Even the blues produced in the city are considered by some to be “cheerful” because of the predominan…

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

“Throw me something Mister!” has been the call of parade goers for decades, but it hasn’t always been so. Early carnival krewes might bestow candy or fancy trinkets on favored ladies and friends, but the general crowd was more likely to get doused…

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Whether to escape the heat or something else, New Orleanians have long flocked to movie theaters. The first films were shown at West End amusement park in 1896 as an exhibition. Soon after, William T. Rock purchased the exclusive rights to show mo…

Sunday, July 23, 2017

With its shady oaks and meandering bayou, what is now City Park attracted people long before the city was created. The oak-lined bank of Bayou Metairie – an ancient tributary of the Mississippi River — now the lagoon alongside City Park Avenue, fi…

Friday, July 21, 2017

Algiers rose opposite the Mississippi River from the French Quarter soon after the city’s founding. The area served New Orleans as a plantation, slaughterhouse, powder storage and slave-holding quarters before being developed into its own town in …

Thursday, July 20, 2017

While many people across the United States thought Dorothy Dix lived in their hometown, Dix for years wrote from her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Dix was a pseudonym for Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, who in the 1940s, was one of the most widely…

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

For those who can’t make it to every second-line parade or Mardi Gras Indians event, there’s the Backstreet Cultural Museum. The museum in the Treme, located in an unassuming former funeral home, offers a close look the bright colors and intricaci…

Sunday, July 16, 2017

More than his TV shows, or his signature “Bam!” Emeril Lagasse credits New Orleans for much of his success. Dick and Ella Brennan hired the brash Fall River, Massachusetts, native to succeed Paul Prudhomme as head chef at Commander’s Palace.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

The crash of Pan Am Flight 759 left physical and emotional scars on the region that still linger. The most tragic and fatal crash in the U.S. that year, and in fact one of the most deadly airplane crashes in U.S. history, the crash killed 146 peop…

Monday, July 10, 2017

Preservation Hall was created as a space for musicians to play jazz in an era dominated by rock and roll. The effort was so successful that the Preservation Hall Jazz Band now plays with today’s top rock stars.

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Visions became reality during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans: A gondola crossed the river; a monorail moved people around the city; and a Wonderwall featuring an eclectic mix of architecture greeted visitors. The fair, held 100…

Saturday, July 08, 2017

The French of Nouvelle Orleans did not welcome their Spanish rulers with open arms when the Louisiana territory was ceded to Spain in 1762. Yet, over time, the Spanish government made great improvements to the city and the territory, firmly establ…

Monday, July 03, 2017

WWOZ was created to showcase New Orleans’ unique musical heritage and soon became a part of that legacy itself. The community radio station was the idea of brothers Jerry and Walter Brock. While the two secured the 90.7 frequency in 1976, it would…

Sunday, July 02, 2017

Many of the city’s first freestanding wooden homes perished in the fires of 1788 and 1794. The Creole and American influenced townhouses that were built in their place remain the dominant building type in the French Quarter.